Thursday, February 18, 2010

Working Girl

The title of this post instantly brings to mind 2 thoughts:(1) Melanie Griffith on the SI Ferry, headed into NYC and(2) umm...shall we delicately say...a lady of the night? Are prostitutes still called that?ANYway, I briefly was a Working Girl a few weeks ago, and I was neither Melanie Griffith nor a "professional" - though now that I think about it she did look pretty whorish in the scenes when she wasn't wearing white sneakers with giant-shouldered business suits. Hmm. I digress, let's get back on track here.What I mean is, this week I got a chance to do something fun and different and get paid...again, not in THAT way. Ahem. Minds out of the gutter, people!This week, I was given the chance to step out of my SAHM role and work outside my home. I am being very specific here because I want to make it very clear that being home with a 2 year old IS work, ALL THE TIME. However, this week I got to leave my sweats at home, slap on some make-up, and head into the Big Apple. Oh, one more thing - the make-up part? I actually bought new mascara for this week, since I hadn't used my old one in a month (why would I?) & I was betting it was pretty gross inside that tube. So, hello - not only did I wear mascara, but I actually bought a new one. Win-win for me! That is what brings me excitement these days. So you're probably getting a better handle on how thrilled I was to be out and about 3 nights in a row this week, in the greatest city evah!The first 2 nights I participated in a workshop sort-of program with 11 other women. We eventually found out that it was sponsored by L'Oreal. What I got paid to do was sit with other chicks and talk about skincare, make-up and haircare. We also spoke about the term "beauty" and what it means. We talked about why we buy what we buy, and we analyzed magazine ads and TV commercials and discussed what grabs us and what bothers us about them. It was a long project - 6 hours total (3 hours, 2 nights in a row) and what we spoke of was really eye-opening to all. I see the ads and commercials, but I never really thought about how they affect what I buy, and how much is soaking in. And the airbrushing - Dear God, the airbrushing that goes into these ads! Most of them might as well be showing mannequins wearing make-up, that's how fake many models look. And us real women notice that, not-so-slick Marketing Peeps. FYI.It was a funky mix of women, some were fellow Stay at Home Moms, some were true Career Women, and the rest a mix of what's in between. We had no problem stating our opinion, and we had a great time interacting. We all got along so well that the moderator put together an online group for us as a way to stay in touch, which was way cool of him. We walked away from this workshop with the opinion that those who market skincare, make-up and haircare still have alot to learn in terms of what us real-life gals want to look like. I was happy to be a part of spreading that awareness. I was also happy to make $350 for hanging out with some terrific women and talking - Holla! The 3rd night of my working week, I worked with a dear friend of ours that owns a catering business. I helped out at a cocktail party by passing around the yummies. It was fun to be in a party atmosphere - I haven't been to a cocktail party in ages! The party people were always happy to see me heading towards them with a tray of deliciousness, and I didn't even mind the clean-up. I feel like I'm forever cleaning up, and this time I was getting paid to do it. I know I'm "paid" at home with my family's love, and Rich takes care of us financially, but I was happy to go home that night with some good ol' cash!So, I was a Working Girl, again. Temporarily. It was fun. I was happy for the change of pace. But I missed this face too much, even in those brief hours, to think I am ready to give up this SAHM gig I got going on right now: